What is Love?
by mysterygirl565
Summary: What is love? What would the 39 clues characters respond if they were asked that question? Read and find out. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**What is love?**

**Amy**

"What is love?

Is it a celebration

Of mind and of body

Of heart and of soul

Of look and of beauty?"

_What is love? It's an interesting question. I suppose that it wants me to go deeper than a dictionary entry. So okay…here goes…_

_To me, love isn't just one thing. Love is pain, sorrow, confusion, joy, heartbreak, jealousy, fear, anger, passion, and happiness all rolled into one idea. One big idea._

_And there are different types of love - there is false love and true love. There are people who love someone only for their looks or wealth, and people who love someone for, well, them. And the trouble is, you can spend your whole life not knowing which is which._

_And there's something about love that's addictive. Even when your heart's been broken and you think you're done with love, you find yourself plunging back into that world. Knowing you're most likely going to get hurt, or that you're going to hurt someone else, and you still do it - hurting and healing, hurting and healing, until you find the right person. Funny, isn't it, how predictable it all is?_

_I take that last thing back. Love surprises you. Constantly. It either gives you a bouquet of roses or a broken heart. And what's more, it seems you find yourself falling in love with the most unlikely people - people you would never have considered before._

_Like Ian. I know I shouldn't write about him, shouldn't even think about him, but I can't help it. It's as if love is continuously pushing me toward him, dragging me toward him, taunting me with something I can't have, because I know he doesn't love me back - and I know he never will._

_That's another thing about love - it doesn't always have happy endings._

**Ian**

"What is love?

Is it a book full of words

Of beautiful poems

Of bittersweet stories

Of pretty ideas?"

_What is love? Hmmm. Most people would give a meaningless, mushy answer. Maybe that's what love is in their fantasies. But the truth of the matter is…it's a feeling for the weak. _

_It's rather pitiful. So many powerful leaders and rulers with so much potential have been thwarted by love, overcome by it. You see, love drives us to do things - impulsive, foolish, pointless things you regret later. And I can not tell you all the people that have given up everything, everything, for love. _

_Love isn't something any capable people should feel. The Kabras most definitely don't support it - we have arranged marriages and such - and so I believe it is an irrelevant feeling - irrelevant and useless. In fact, I would rather call it laughable - well, I would if I wasn't afraid that _I_ was in love myself._

_No. I'm not in love. I simply like Amy. She interests me, as a person. I have never met someone like her - intelligent, curious, grateful for small things, always willing to learn. And though to many she may not seem like a beauty, I find her oddly beautiful. Almost as if the true radiance inside her shines to the outside. _

_But it is foolish to think of her at all. I have a mission, and she is a distraction, an obstruction. I must push away my feelings, doubts, and hesitations if I am to have success._

_That's another thing about love - it thrives the best when you don't want it. _

**Dan**

"What is love?

Could it be just a joke

A thing nonexistent

Passed down year from year

An idea made real?"

_What is love? Well, that's a dumb question. It's a stupid, pointless feeling that's the object of tons of stupid, pointless movies and is basically what turns the world around. Girls are all for it, and guys ignore it. Yeah. Now, ninja skills - ninja skills are awesome. But that's probably not the answer you wanted…_

_You know, fine, just give me a second…Okay, here it is, the dictionary definition:_

_Love, (luv) n. : a deep affection for (yuck) or attachment (gross) or devotion (weird) to someone_

_There, that's what it said in the dictionary. Well, I may have added in a few parts, but still. There, you happy?_

_Oh, and another thing about love - I am an eleven-year-old, and I have never felt, do not feel, and will never feel love. Okay. Maybe toward Ben and Jerry ice cream, but that's about it. There. Ninja out!_

**Natalie**

"What is love?

Is it simply a stream

That runs through one's heart

Makes one catch his breath

Feel lightheaded and faint?"

_What is love? That's a worthless question. My answer - I don't really care. The only thing about love I do care about is that everyone loves me. I am special - I'm rich, beautiful, smart, beautiful, funny, beautiful, perfect, and beautiful. _

_Well, any questions? None? Good, case closed. I have better things to waste my time on. _

_Oh, and another thing about love - it's sooo overrated! _

**AN: I know Natalie's was short, but I figured that that's just the type of person Natalie is. Not willing enough to write something too long. Anyways, I'm not sure if I should make this a one-shot or continue it with even more characters, but I'll decide soon...anyways, please read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**What is Love?**

**Irina**

"What is love?

Is it a glamorous title

For the pain and the tears

For the cuts and the scars

For all broken hearts?"

_What is love? Ah, love. The connotation of it is always something fantastic and awe-inspiring, something promising. So what _is _love? A lie. A well-thought-out, carefully planned lie. _

_Love is pain. Love is the illusion that you have something, something you treasure, something that is yours. And when you realize it isn't yours, when life snatches it away from you, love is what rips out your heart and floods your eyes with tears._

_Love. Now I laugh at love. Love doesn't help you, make you a better person, it mocks you. In a way that makes everything so much worse. _

_I once had something, someone to love. But I was forced to balance it between other priorities. Perhaps if could relive it all, I could have done things differently, made different choices._

_I couldn't have, of course, changed the inevitable, the heartbreaking loss, but I could have made it easier on myself, and had fewer regrets._

_Now I'm done with love. I haven't pushed it to the back of my mind, I've wiped it out completely. It's gone. Sometimes I still get haunted by memories, but that's where the 39 clues come in. They used to keep me occupied, distracted, but more and more of late, now that the hunt's become deadly, instead it brings back more pain and regrets. _

_I find myself thinking, _Is this really me? _I can't tell anymore. I'm fighting a war outside, with Isabel and the other branches, and I'm fighting one within myself, trying to decide whether to complete my assigned mission, and face regrets, or to let love perhaps once again enter inside me, do what I know is perhaps truly right, and face horrible punishment. _

_That's another thing about love - once you've felt it, it's much harder to forget. _

**Isabel**

"What is love?

Is it simply a disguise

That hides hope in the corner

And light in another

And joy out of sight?"

_What is love? That's a ridiculous question. As if I would stoop low enough to care._

_Love is a thing that's useless, an idea that's laughable, something that isn't important. The Lucians, especially the Kabras, should never let it rule their actions, or in anyway effect their mind frame. _

_Love weakens the average individual. Many times we've lost valuable Lucians for it, which I suppose means they weren't all that valuable in the first place. _

_But there is, of course, another thing that worries me. Ian. Lately he has taken a bit _too _much interest in Amy. I can't help but worry that soon it will start getting worse. Which is why I have decided I must stamp it out at all costs, before a grievous mistake emerges from it._

_That's another dangerous thing about love - it's contagious. _

**Alistair**

"What is love?

Is it simply a feeling

One has then remembers

A returning, sweet memory

You keep and you treasure?"

_What is love? Well, there are many ways to define it. It can be the complete adoration, admiration, or affection one has for another, which in context would be used to mean a particular feeling. Such can be felt between a family or a couple. _

_Love can also be used as a pet name, as in direct address to the person, similar to "darling" or "honey." With a slightly different meaning it can be used as a noun to describe the person you feel adoration for._

_Finally, love can also be used as a verb, which is to feel adoration or affection for a person, thing, or activity. _

_But judging from the way the question is phrased, in a very open-ended manner, it is probably asking not only for the many uses of the word, but perhaps for some past experience, too._

_Throughout my life I have had many loves. Some I broke up with, and some broke up with me. Have I found the one person I would have liked to spend my life with? Perhaps, once or twice. Have I done so? No. _

_Love is difficult, for it makes up most of life and so must be interesting to have occupied the human race for so long. But love isn't impossible, and it is one thing you should never give up on. _

_Oh, and another thing about love - no matter how many obstacles it is, there is always a reward at the end. _

**Nellie**

"What is love?

Is it a thing to share with families

To laugh and to smile

For friends close together

For bonds and for loyalty?"

_What is love? Okay, so here's how I see it. Love is:_

_A) when I like a thing, as in _I love food

_B) when I like an activity, as in _I love cooking

_C) when I like a person, as in _I love Bob

_D) a feeling of, I don't know, liking, as in _I was in love

_Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Except, you don't always know who you're in love with. That is, you don't even know if you're in love at all. _

_Take me and Theo. He was cute. He seemed nice. I am a sucker for cute and seemingly nice guys, but as soon as I knew the type of person he really was, I had no trouble moving on and finding plenty of other cute guys. _

_Too bad Amy can't do the same. Poor kid. She's stuck on Ian. Having your heart broken is hard, but I wish there's some way I could help. I think the jerk really hurt her. _

_That's another thing about love - sometimes a broken heart on the inside hurts more than an injury on the outside._

**AN: I hope no one seemed too OOC. I know Irina seemed a bit sentimental, but she was similar in the 39 clues books when she was thinking about Nikolai ( by the way, that was who Irina was talking about in her piece ) I tried to make Isabel as ruthless as ever, and I figured she might notice a change in Ian. I don't really know much about Alistair's love life, so I just made it kind of broad and general. And Nellie - well, I just made her sound like typical Nellie. And she also is worried about Amy, so I put that in. Yup. That's pretty much it. Hoped you liked it, and you can tell me the ones you want me to do next in a review (I'm only doing 4 per chapter)**


	3. Chapter 3

**What is Love?**

**Grace**

"What is love?

Is it a thing one just uses

To comfort and help

To pick up and heal

To nourish and grow?"

_What is love? Love is beauty. It brings out the best in all, reveals our true selves inside. _

_Love is loyalty. Being in love takes full dedication. It is something fragile, that may be broken by lies, and yet strengthened by the truth._

_Love is powerful. It's what prompts so many people's thoughts, actions, and mistakes. It's what makes us act before we think, think before we stop, and stop before we hurt others. _

_Love is chaos. When you first fall in love, it's a whirlwind of feelings and emotions. When you know they love you back, it's like a constant waterfall of happiness running through your heart. When they leave you, the world turns gray and dark, and the stars, once so beautiful, just don't seem as bright anymore. _

_Love may be wonderful, but I don't mean to romanticize it. It causes so many burdens, so much grief, so much hurting. But the truth is, even though it feels like it's the end of the world, you heal, eventually. And you do keep on loving different people, until you fall in love one last time, or get hurt one last time, and then you know that it's the end. When my husband died…well, I knew my heart would forever stay with him. _

_That's another thing about love - your heart doesn't always remain yours. _

**Vikram**

"What is love?

Is it a hope that is false

A worn-out dream

A ragged lie

An overused story?"

_What is love? Love is practically nothing. It's for people who have their heads full of nonsense, for young people who are simply caught in the whirlwind of it all, destined to go nowhere, to have their heads jerked sharply out of the clouds. _

_Isabel's and my marriage was arranged, of course, practically set in stone from our births. She came from a powerful Lucian family, and I came from a powerful Lucian family - Voila! We were perfect. _

_I remember when I first met with her properly was when I was nineteen, a mere two years away from our future planned wedding. _

_I remember quite clearly my first impression of her. She was a year older than me, and I knew right away that she was destined for power - simply by the way she carried herself, and talked. _

_She was distant to me. She was cold and formal. Her first words addressed to me were, "And you are Lord Vikram, I take it." Not a flicker of a smile. _

_I admit when I first saw her, she took my breath away. She was stunning, dark hair flowing, amber eyes glistening. _

_She was determined, I could tell that. Determined, ruthless, and cunning. Not one you wanted as your enemy. _

_And when I saw her, I thought, a glimmer of a hope, that perhaps, ours would be a true marriage, not one destined to awkward words and silence, coldness and forced smiles._

_I kept that hope close to my heart, away from anyone who might criticize it. I was young then, foolish. _

_And then a year after that, a year before our wedding, we met again, and this time she was to stay longer than a week, this time she was to stay a few months. _

_And she made quite clear to me, in that time, that ours _would_ be a marriage of awkward words and silence, of coldness and forced smiles. And, a year after that, when we were married, I laughed at myself for such thoughts. I was perfectly settled, and it would only be better for the Lucians that way. The hope withered, and I immersed myself in matters of the 39 clues, now a true Lucian, understanding all my past, foolish mistakes. _

_But, something else about love - it is not that easily fooled._

**Jonah**

"What is love?

Is it the ability to feel

The power to hate

The way of heartbreak

The path to adoration?"

_What is love? Seriously? Yo askin' me? That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! What's with that, anyway?_

_Love is…love is…love's…gimme a second. _

_It's, well, mushy stuff that's everywhere - in movies, books. Romance, and kissing, yada, yada, yada._

_It's a big part in fairytales, like, well, ya know, Cinderella, Sleepin' Beauty, Beauty and the Beast…Gosh, I'm pretty sure I'm forgettin' one. Ah, well. _

_I can't really say anything about past experience - umm, sure, I've dated a couple o' girls, but that was mostly just for the press, a publicity thing. And of course tons o' girls are in love with _me.

_But the true point of love isn't just looks, or fame - it's what's on the inside. _

_Now you're probably thinking "Whoa, that's deep." Well, darn right it is. Well, actually, I copied it off the Internet just now. Got ya, didn't I?_

_Oh, and another thing - Snow White! How could I forget that one?_

**Hamilton**

"What is love?

Is it something so high

That it's just out of reach

Something that's just right above

Your outstretched fingertips?"

_What is love? Well…_

_It's when a guy (or a girl) likes a girl (or a guy) (meaning the girl likes the guy, not the guy likes the guy)_

_And when I say like, I don't mean just like, I mean like, like. Because if it's just like, then it's a girl that's just a friend - which may sound like a girlfriend, but trust me, there's a difference. But if you like, like, then it's a girlfriend (just to be clear, not a friend that's a girl) and then you're a couple. And the same applies backwards, except then it would be a friend that's a boy (which would actually be a guy friend) but not a boyfriend. Whew…quite the mouthful. _

_Huh. I can't tell with Amy, though. Do I like her, or do I like, like her? Or do I like, like, like her? But is there even such a thing? Couldn't that sort of bring me back down to one like? I'll get back to you on that one._

_Yeah, another thing about love - it kinda confuses me._

**AN: Well, I hope you liked the ones I chose for this time. For my next one I'm doing Cora, Broderick, Aunt Beatrice, and another one I have yet to think of. And the next one is going to be the last chapter. :(**

**Sorry, but there are really not too many other characters I can think of. Then again, I'm still open to more suggestions of people to do, and if you put some in the reviews, who knows? Maybe I'll be able to squeeze another chapter. **

**So review, my friends, review. You know you want to. **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Ok. I just wanted to say, all of you guys really came through for me. I really appreciated every single review I've had for this story, and I considered every single suggestion you guys gave me. But the fact is, I'm sticking with my original decision to have this as my last chapter. :(**

**I know, I know, you're probably thinking, "But why? We gave her so many good suggestions of people!" And you did. It's just that I feel that there isn't enough personality for the rest of the characters in the book for me to write something for them. So, it is with great sadness that I must announce that this is my last chapter for this story. **

**Enjoy :)**

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What is Love?

**Cora**

"What is love?

Is it beautiful music

That flows through one's ears

And touches one's heart

And captures one's soul?"

_What is love? Love is… cruel. And cold. It always takes more than you give, or are willing to give. _

_It's demanding. Love is something that takes control of your mind, drains your energy, and makes you lose focus. _

_I definitely felt it in my youth. It's something that blossomed and flourished in my heart. I fell in love with Broderick for his music, and I married him on impulse - love can do that to you. _

_And for some time I did love him. And I didn't just love him moderately, I loved him all the way. I made every effort possible, I made every sacrifice possible. But love kept taking more. It forced me to a crossroads, a fork on the path, a choice between love and my career - my career as the leader of the Janus branch. And it would have been foolish to throw all that away. _

_We still kept it together after that. We had to - after all, we had a son. But we spent less time together. I was more involved with the 39 clues, while Broderick dealt with all of Jonah's fame- went with him to his concerts, organized all of his signings, recordings, and interviews. We became…more separate. Different than before, when I truly felt and believed we were one whole. _

_Let me put it this way - I find that love is a bird, or, to be more exact, its ability to fly. When you're first in love, it's like you've captured that bird and put it in a cage. You constantly keep it close to you. _

_But there comes a time when you realize you can't keep it forever - the feeling isn't _yours_ to keep. You realize that you have to let the bird go free, because everything ends at one point. _

_I can't tell you the number of times I've tried to explain this to Broderick, but he just doesn't understand. He doesn't have an artistic soul like me. If only he knew how hard it is for me._

_Because there's another thing about love - it makes sure you regret setting the bird free afterwards. _

**Broderick**

"What is love?

Is it a mix of emotions

All bundled together

Each one a separate thing

And yet tightly intertwined?"

_What is love? Well, I felt it once, I can tell you that. Maybe I still feel it now, just in a different way. It's hard to tell._

_To me, love used to be music, and music used to be everything. It was because, in a way that seemed so magical to me back then, I could express my feelings through music. I could show my thoughts to the world. _

_I remember, a bit after a college, I met a woman. She was beautiful, absolutely stunning. In my eyes, she had no flaws. _

_We dated for a few weeks. She seemed absolutely taken with my musical skills, and it turned out she herself could sing beautifully. And then one day, she came to me, and she said that, after long thinking, she was now quite sure that she was in love. She said it felt like soaring._

_So, I did what any sane man would do after that - I married her._

_At first, my and Cora's marriage was wonderful. We were the perfect couple, and when Jonah came along, well, that just made us the perfect family._

_I was literally ready to do anything for them. Love for her, love for my son, ruled my life. _

_But then love forced me to a crossroads, a choice between my love and my music. Because I found it was pointless to try to follow my dream, what with Cora herself so good, and Jonah a quickly rising star - not to mention that I wasn't actually in the Janus branch myself. All my skills were swept away, overshadowed by the rest of my family. _

_I loved my music, I can tell you that - but I loved my family even more. It would have been foolish to trade them in - and for what? A short period of fame?_

_So I gave up playing. _

_But not soon after, Cora seemed to change. She became more formal to me, more distant. Of course I understood she had a branch to lead, and I had a pop star to assist, but that didn't mean we couldn't make it work as a happy family._

_I tried to talk to her once. I expected her to deny anything changing, but she agreed. And when I told her it didn't have to be like this, she said it did. She tried to, as she called it, "explain" things to me. Something about a bird and letting it out of the cage. _

_I gave up after that. We led our separate lives, we had our separate jobs. But I still can't help wishing thing didn't change - that they had stayed the same. _

_Because that's another thing about love - even when you've given up on it, it doesn't give up on you._

**Aunt Beatrice**

"What is love?

Is it horrid misfortune

That holds one no mercy

Fuels hatred and jealousy

Kills hope and all smiles?"

_What is love? Love is like a disaster, waiting to happen. Or a volcano, waiting to explode._

_So many people say love is wonderful - blah, blah, blah. _

_Personally, I don't listen to childish fairytales or read over exaggerated love stories. I only judge by the evidence. I look to real life._

_Grace, for example, died completely alone, still quietly mourning the death of her husband, and Hope and Arthur._

_Hope and Arthur died together. As far as I've heard, Hope set her children down outside and then rushed back to the burning house, where her husband was still trapped. She obviously did it for love of him, thinking he could be rescued, but instead what happened? She died, leaving her two children behind for _me _to look after. _

_I've heard several times before that children should be raised with love and compassion. Of course, I don't believe any of that. I think children should be raised on discipline, strictness, and punishment. _

_And it wasn't like they were mine, anyways. They were orphans. I didn't want them. _

_But of course they had no gratitude that I took them in. That just shows you love, doesn't it?_

_Which leads me to my final statement about love - I never want anything to do with it._

**Reagan**

"What is love?

Is it a puzzle

So difficult and complex

That it's evaded the minds

Of so many great people?

_What is love? Love is…well, there are different kinds of love. _

_I mean, there's the mushy, couple, boyfriend/girlfriend kind of love, which is…weird. I mean, it's sweet, in a way, but I am only eleven years old, so I haven't really felt it yet. So for now, it doesn't really mean much to me, except I think it's way too mushy. _

_Then again there are other types of love. I _love _Arnold, our pet pit bull, a lot. He's fun to play with, and he's just so adorable that I could hug him all day (Don't tell Madison I said that, she would kill me. According to her he's a lean, mean fighting machine)._

_I _love_ watching professional wrestling. And all types of sports. I do football, soccer, basketball, volleyball…I could go on forever. So that's a type of love for an activity._

_I _love _my family, and I know they love me back, though they don't always know how to show it. That's a thing with the Holts - we don't always express our feelings through words. More like through fighting._

_Man, I wish I could have someone to talk to about this. I mean, Madison would just punch me in the stomach if I asked her what she thought about love, and Hamilton would probably look at me really weird so that I would have to say "Psyche!" as if I was kidding. My mom would think I'd gotten sick, and my dad would go on and on about how I've gotten soft and I need to be sent to military school. Bleh! _

_So anyways, that's all I really have to say about love. _

_Oh, and another thing - never tell any of this to my family. They love me, but they're not known for being understanding. Plus, I like my face just the way it is. _

**AN: I hope you liked it. I decided it would be fun to do Cora and Broderick, a married couple, together, just so you can compare the two of them. For Aunt Beatrice, I figured she wouldn't know the true nature of the fire, or why Hope ran back in, so that she would just assume it was for Arthur. And I wanted to give a special thank you to girlwithwings329, who really gave me some awesome ideas for Reagan, some of which I tried to incorporate into Reagan's piece. **

**And finally, I wanted to thank all my fans and reviewers (you rock!) and I just wanted to say I had tons of fun writing this. Don't forget to review one last time!**

**~mg565**


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